Below, I have listed a good selection of major vocabulary and grammar that students will be learning or have already learned in French class while studying this topic (more can be found in the student text). In each case, I have tried to provide an English translation along with more phonetic spellings of how these words and phrases actually sound in French (for those parents who would like to practice with their children but have a limited knowledge of French). Please note that these phonetic spellings do not convey the exact subtlety and nuances of French pronunciation, so don’t be alarmed if your child tries to correct you when you say them. In fact, it would probably be a good indication that they are learning and retaining what I teach in class everyday !!
French (sounds like...) English meaning
la musique (lah- myu-zeek) music
la musique classique (lah- myu-zeek class-eek) classical music
* most other styles of music are spelled and pronounced very much like English :
le rock, le pop, le rap, le country, le jazz, les blues, le métal, le reggae, etc.
un disque compact (uhn-deesk-comb-pact) a compact disc
un musicien (uhn-myu-zee-cyehn) a male musician
une musicienne (uyn-myu-zee-cyenn) a female musician
un group musical (uhn-groop-myu-zee-cal) a music group
le rhythme (luh-reet-muh) the rhythm
la mélodie (la-may-low-dee) the melody
les paroles (lay-pah-roll) the lyrics
le son (luh-sohn) the sound
banal (bah-nahl) boring, banal
branché (brahn-shay) cool, "hip"
calmant (cahl-mahn) calming, relaxing
déchainé (day-shen-ay) wild, crazy
dément (day-mahn) wild, crazy
émouvant (ay-moo-vahn) moving, emotional
ennuyeux (on-wee-uh) boring, annoying
irritant (eerie-tahn) irritating, annoying
passionnant (pass-yon-ahn) exciting
triste (treest) sad
moins (mwehn) less (also : minus)
plus (plyu) more (also : plus)
mieux que... (myuh-kuh) better than....
chanter (shon-tay) to sing
jouer (jhou-ay) to play (music)
danser (dohn-say) to dance
écouter (ay-coo-tay) to listen
acheter (ash-uh-tay) to buy
* each of these 5 verbs can be conjugated like all other French verbs which end in -er
(students can consult page 174 in their French texts for a chart to help them with this conjugation)
French (sounds like...) English meaning
la musique (lah- myu-zeek) music
la musique classique (lah- myu-zeek class-eek) classical music
* most other styles of music are spelled and pronounced very much like English :
le rock, le pop, le rap, le country, le jazz, les blues, le métal, le reggae, etc.
un disque compact (uhn-deesk-comb-pact) a compact disc
un musicien (uhn-myu-zee-cyehn) a male musician
une musicienne (uyn-myu-zee-cyenn) a female musician
un group musical (uhn-groop-myu-zee-cal) a music group
le rhythme (luh-reet-muh) the rhythm
la mélodie (la-may-low-dee) the melody
les paroles (lay-pah-roll) the lyrics
le son (luh-sohn) the sound
banal (bah-nahl) boring, banal
branché (brahn-shay) cool, "hip"
calmant (cahl-mahn) calming, relaxing
déchainé (day-shen-ay) wild, crazy
dément (day-mahn) wild, crazy
émouvant (ay-moo-vahn) moving, emotional
ennuyeux (on-wee-uh) boring, annoying
irritant (eerie-tahn) irritating, annoying
passionnant (pass-yon-ahn) exciting
triste (treest) sad
moins (mwehn) less (also : minus)
plus (plyu) more (also : plus)
mieux que... (myuh-kuh) better than....
chanter (shon-tay) to sing
jouer (jhou-ay) to play (music)
danser (dohn-say) to dance
écouter (ay-coo-tay) to listen
acheter (ash-uh-tay) to buy
* each of these 5 verbs can be conjugated like all other French verbs which end in -er
(students can consult page 174 in their French texts for a chart to help them with this conjugation)